Rajji and Hajjar call to 'guarantee' expat participation in parliamentary elections

BEIRUT — A joint committee from the Interior and Foreign Affairs Ministries held its first meeting Thursday at the Interior Ministry.

The session, attended by ministers Ahmad Hajjar and Joe Rajji, focused on diaspora voting provisions ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections, according to a statement from Bustros Palace.

The committee said it began studying the provisions of the electoral law on expatriate voting, as well as a report on the issue drafted in 2021, "without taking into account the discussions and suggestions in Parliament and the government regarding the electoral law, and in accordance with the deadlines imposed by the current law."

The two ministers emphasized "the importance of holding the legislative elections on schedule and guaranteeing the participation of Lebanese from the diaspora, by granting expatriates the right to vote with full transparency, which will strengthen the trust of the Lebanese people in the electoral process."

On Tuesday, the head of the Legislative branch, Nabih Berri, once again had to postpone a session due to a lack of quorum, after the meeting was boycotted by a majority of MPs from the non-Hezbollah camps.

These MPs, led by the Lebanese Forces, are advocating for an amendment to the 2017 law, which would allow the diaspora to vote for all 128 seats based on their place of origin, and hoped that the Cabinet would prepare a draft law to this effect.

Hezbollah and its allies, including Berri's Amal Movement, are calling for the current law to be applied by creating a special constituency of six MPs for the diaspora.